Walnut

WALNUT - Often times, teams meeting in the playoffs aren't too familiar with each other. That wasn't the case when the Crescenta Valley High boys' water polo team met Walnut on Wednesday afternoon. Crescenta Valley and Walnut played Oct. 23 in a nonleague game. Crescenta Valley Coach Jan Sakonju recorded the match and provided film to each of his players to study in case the teams met in the postseason. The Falcons reviewed the film Monday and Tuesday, but it didn't seem to provide any help in the rematch as Walnut picked up an 8-6 win against visiting Crescenta Valley in a CIF Southern Section Division V first-round match at Mount San Antonio College.

BURBANK — For the members of the Glendale High boys’ water polo program, it was a surprise. When the season began, not many could figure what the expectations would be for the Nitros. With a new coach on board and a handful of key returners back, just making the postseason would have been sufficient. It turned out that the Nitros more than exceeded those expectations piled on them. Glendale saw its postseason journey continue after it posted an 11-9 win against fourth-seeded Walnut on Saturday afternoon in a CIF Southern Section Division VI quarterfinal match at Burbank High.

Haik Chatalyan is one who demands results. If he doesn’t make an easy save that he’s been known to stop, he’s going to figure out why and try not to let it happen again. That’s life playing inside the cage and demanding excellence. “My duty is to prevent goals and help the team win,” said Chatalyan, a junior goalkeeper on the upstart Glendale High boys’ water polo team. “I’m expected to do that. “If a shot gets past me, then I try not to let another one go in.” Chatalyan and the Nitros are faring historically well in the CIF Southern Section Division VI playoffs.

As expected, Glendale High's boys' water polo team was granted the No. 1 seed when the CIF Southern Section offices released playoff pairings on Sunday morning. In a Division V bracket cluttered with area teams from the Pacific and Prep leagues, the Nitros roll in after having steamrolled through the Pacific en route to a second consecutive league crown and clearly have the mind set of a No. 1 team. "Our team's peaking at the right time of the year," said Nitros Coach Forest Holbrook, whose squad will host JW North, an Inland Valley at-large entrant that Holbrook admitted he knows little about, though that didn't seem to matter.

WALNUT - When it absolutely needed a goal in crunch time of Wednesday's CIF Southern Section Division V playoff opener against host Walnut, it was no secret who the Hoover High boys' water polo team would turn to. But even with Hakop Kaplanyan, the two-time reigning All-Area Player of the Year, leading the charge, the Tornadoes' offense was in shambles throughout the fourth quarter and the shot attempt the senior utility was forced into in...

WALNUT - At times battling itself as much as its opponent, the Glendale High boys' water polo team was far from perfect at Wednesday evening's CIF Southern Section Division V semifinal playoff match at Mt. San Antonio College. The problem for Walnut High, and for Los Altos come Saturday, is that even an imperfect Nitros team is downright difficult, if not unbeatable. PHOTOS: Glendale vs. Walnut CIF boys' water polo semifinals Glendale proved that by overcoming 20 turnovers and bouts of complacency in knocking off Hacienda League runner-up Walnut, 16-12, to return to the divisional championship for a second straight year.

BOYS' TENNIS Walnut 11, Flintridge Prep 7: A small 5-4 edge in singles play was not enough to carry the day for the visiting Rebels, who fell in the wild-card round of the CIF Southern Section Division II playoffs Tuesday afternoon. “We probably should have won two more sets, but I think we still would have lost on games,” Flintridge Prep first-year Coach Hratchia Sargsyan said. “You have to give Walnut credit. They were a deep team.” The loss caps an 8-8 season for the Rebels, who finished third in the Prep League.

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — With the Glendale High boys' tennis team's season teetering on the brink of elimination going into the final round of play on Friday, it didn't take long for visiting Walnut to push the Nitros to the tipping point, winning all six sets to complete a seemingly dominant 14-4 win in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division II playoffs. But while the final stanza was a walkover for the Mustangs, the previous two told a different story — that of a highly competitive match that, if not for a few close sets that didn't break the Nitros' way, might have been much closer than the 8-4 advantage Walnut took into the third round.

WALNUT — Make no mistake about it, the Mt. SAC Cross-Country Invitational is unlike any other gathering of high school athletes. Runners are treated like rock stars as they coast past the finish line to be met by a throng of reporters, relatives and spectators. Interviews, photographs and even autographs are as ordinary as the sweat on their backs. This past Friday and Saturday, four local cross-country teams competed against the best high-school competition around in the 59th running of the event.

PASADENA — For most of Tuesday's nonleague match against Walnut High at Pasadena City College, the members of the Crescenta Valley boys' water polo team looked as if their minds were elsewhere. Their normally dependable scoring was certainly missing for long stretches, and without standout senior hole/set Alan Dearman in the game, no one seemed eager to step in and take his place as the main weapon on offense. Fortunately for the Falcons, who entered the match ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division V, their defense never faltered and goalkeeper Rane Colvin had 12 saves to keep the fifth-ranked Mustangs at bay until Crescenta Valley was able to figure things out for a 9-6 win. "We could figure stuff out and work on different plays and we don't have to really worry about getting scored on," said Jack Snyder, whose four goals, along with Louis Wojciechowski's four, led the Falcons.

WALNUT - At times battling itself as much as its opponent, the Glendale High boys' water polo team was far from perfect at Wednesday evening's CIF Southern Section Division V semifinal playoff match at Mt. San Antonio College. The problem for Walnut High, and for Los Altos come Saturday, is that even an imperfect Nitros team is downright difficult, if not unbeatable. PHOTOS: Glendale vs. Walnut CIF boys' water polo semifinals Glendale proved that by overcoming 20 turnovers and bouts of complacency in knocking off Hacienda League runner-up Walnut, 16-12, to return to the divisional championship for a second straight year.

Scoring goals hasn't been an area of concern for the Glendale High boys' water polo team through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Aside from their quick-strike offense, which has tallied 39 postseason goals, the top-seeded Nitros plan to shift their focus to tightening up their defense in their quest to move into the championship match for the second straight season. Glendale will put its defensive unit to the test when it meets Walnut in a CIF Southern Section Division V semifinal match at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Mount San Antonio College.

BOYS' TENNIS Walnut 11, Flintridge Prep 7: A small 5-4 edge in singles play was not enough to carry the day for the visiting Rebels, who fell in the wild-card round of the CIF Southern Section Division II playoffs Tuesday afternoon. “We probably should have won two more sets, but I think we still would have lost on games,” Flintridge Prep first-year Coach Hratchia Sargsyan said. “You have to give Walnut credit. They were a deep team.” The loss caps an 8-8 season for the Rebels, who finished third in the Prep League.

WALNUT - Often times, teams meeting in the playoffs aren't too familiar with each other. That wasn't the case when the Crescenta Valley High boys' water polo team met Walnut on Wednesday afternoon. Crescenta Valley and Walnut played Oct. 23 in a nonleague game. Crescenta Valley Coach Jan Sakonju recorded the match and provided film to each of his players to study in case the teams met in the postseason. The Falcons reviewed the film Monday and Tuesday, but it didn't seem to provide any help in the rematch as Walnut picked up an 8-6 win against visiting Crescenta Valley in a CIF Southern Section Division V first-round match at Mount San Antonio College.

As expected, Glendale High's boys' water polo team was granted the No. 1 seed when the CIF Southern Section offices released playoff pairings on Sunday morning. In a Division V bracket cluttered with area teams from the Pacific and Prep leagues, the Nitros roll in after having steamrolled through the Pacific en route to a second consecutive league crown and clearly have the mind set of a No. 1 team. "Our team's peaking at the right time of the year," said Nitros Coach Forest Holbrook, whose squad will host JW North, an Inland Valley at-large entrant that Holbrook admitted he knows little about, though that didn't seem to matter.

WALNUT - When it absolutely needed a goal in crunch time of Wednesday's CIF Southern Section Division V playoff opener against host Walnut, it was no secret who the Hoover High boys' water polo team would turn to. But even with Hakop Kaplanyan, the two-time reigning All-Area Player of the Year, leading the charge, the Tornadoes' offense was in shambles throughout the fourth quarter and the shot attempt the senior utility was forced into in...

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — With the Glendale High boys' tennis team's season teetering on the brink of elimination going into the final round of play on Friday, it didn't take long for visiting Walnut to push the Nitros to the tipping point, winning all six sets to complete a seemingly dominant 14-4 win in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division II playoffs. But while the final stanza was a walkover for the Mustangs, the previous two told a different story — that of a highly competitive match that, if not for a few close sets that didn't break the Nitros' way, might have been much closer than the 8-4 advantage Walnut took into the third round.

WALNUT — With each defensive stop in the fourth quarter, the Crescenta Valley High girls' water polo team could see itself getting closer to a place it hadn't been for nearly a decade — the semifinals. The Falcons closely followed the plan by forcing their opponents to take perimeter shots. Crescenta Valley was rewarded for its effort. Crescenta Valley received four goals from Kim Fraisse and allowed one goal in the fourth quarter to earn an 8-5 win against Walnut on Friday afternoon in a CIF Southern Section Division V quarterfinal match at Mount San Antonio College.

PASADENA — For most of Tuesday's nonleague match against Walnut High at Pasadena City College, the members of the Crescenta Valley boys' water polo team looked as if their minds were elsewhere. Their normally dependable scoring was certainly missing for long stretches, and without standout senior hole/set Alan Dearman in the game, no one seemed eager to step in and take his place as the main weapon on offense. Fortunately for the Falcons, who entered the match ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division V, their defense never faltered and goalkeeper Rane Colvin had 12 saves to keep the fifth-ranked Mustangs at bay until Crescenta Valley was able to figure things out for a 9-6 win. "We could figure stuff out and work on different plays and we don't have to really worry about getting scored on," said Jack Snyder, whose four goals, along with Louis Wojciechowski's four, led the Falcons.

GLENDALE — A big meet with fast runners under any circumstances, the Mt. San Antonio College Cross-County Invitational was made even faster by cool weather and clean air Saturday morning in Walnut. Crescenta Valley High's girls' and boys' teams used the annual preview for end-of-season CIF events to gauge where they stand, as did numerous other teams that competed in the meet's lower divisions on Friday. The Falcons girls competed in the Division 1 & 2 Team Sweepstakes and placed 15th overall and 11th out of Division 1 teams.